TV-Radio Notebook: Balancing act for Van Gundy

By David Barron |
June 19, 2009

Having endured the stressful exhilaration of broadcasting his brother’s team in the NBA Finals, former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has moved on to other things, like trying to prepare for next year’s Houston marathon.

Thursday morning’s run, for the record, totaled five miles, so he wishes to stress that “trying” is the operative phrase for his marathon project.

In the meantime, Van Gundy’s nervous system has survived the twin challenges of live television and witnessing his brother Stan Van Gundy’s efforts to coach the Orlando Magic to an NBA title. In fact, he’s up for another go at it.

“I’m glad I was able to do it, because it meant Stan was in the Finals. I’d live to do it again next year, and the year after that, for that matter,” he said.

“During those three close games in the middle (of the series), it was difficult coming down the stretch because I was trying to say what I was seeing but I was nervous about the outcome. I would have loved for (the Magic) to have won, but they got beaten by a better team (the Lakers).”

Good month for ratings

I’ve become so accustomed to doom and gloom in this space that the notion of uplifting developments is a little disorienting. But let’s try to fight through it, shall we?

Mild surprise No. 1: For the first time since August 2008, one of Houston’s four all-sports radio stations cracked the top-10 in morning drive among men ages 25-54, according to Arbitron.

Mild surprise No. 2: For the first time in the Arbitron portable people meter era, two all-sports stations are in the top-10 in morning drive for men 25-54.

Mild surprise No. 3: The top sports station ranked seventh in the demo last month, the best ranking since an eighth-place finish for the segment leader in October 2007.

By now, it’s no surprise that the aforementioned No. 7 station last month is KGOW (1560 AM). KILT (610 AM) checked in at No. 10 in the morning drive demo.

Arbitron’s copyright interpretation prohibits the use of specific share numbers for the men’s 25-54 demo, but it is fair to note that KGOW more than doubled its morning drive share in May when compared to April, beating KILT by more than a point. KNFC (97.5 FM) was third and KBME (790 AM) was fourth.

In other dayparts, KILT ranks 11th in the demo for middays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), leading KGOW by more than a point. KILT also leads KGOW by more than a point in afternoon drive (3-7 p.m.) and ranks 13th among all stations. KILT ranked ninth in evenings, thanks, no doubt, to Rockets basketball, and also leads in the weeklong 6 a.m.-midnight numbers in men 25-54.

KGOW’s showing in May continues to reflect a small, devoted cadre of listeners. Its average cumulative weekly listeners among men 25-54 is one-fourth of KILT’s; among persons 12-plus, KILT’s average weekly cume is 381,500; KGOW’s is 46,900, KBME’s is 173,600 and KFNC’s is 122,100.

In persons 12-plus, the only demo in which Arbitron allows public disclosure, KGOW and KILT are tied with average shares of 1.4 to 0.9 for KFNC and 0.6 for KBME in morning drive. For weeklong 12-plus, KILT leads at 1.4 to 0.6 for each of the remaining three stations.

However, let’s close with a reality check: Even when you combine the morning drive share points for the four Houston all-sports stations, they were outdrawn single-handedly in May by Dallas-Fort Worth giant KTCK. Along with the other two all-sports outlets in DFW, it controlled more than 14 percent of the morning drive audience.

So while the May numbers are surprisingly encouraging, the locals still have a long, long way to go. Still, the May ratings are good benchmarks to keep in mind as KILT awaits word on a new program director and as the market adjusts to new morning drive lineups on KILT and KBME with the recent departures of KILT executive Bill Van Rysdam, KILT’s Andre Ware and KBME’s Brad Davies and Craig Roberts.

Four DVRs, no waiting

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